Chip-integrated optical sensor

A Berlin-based German university active in the field of optics has developed a prototype (maturity level 1) of a label-free, integrated HCG-based optical sensor. (A high contrast optical grating (HCG) is a single layer near-wavelength grating physical structure where the grating material has a large contrast in index of refraction with its surroundings. A label or probe is a molecule that is attached chemically to aid in the labeling and detection of a biomolecule such as a protein, antibody, or amino acid.) The developed sensor provides very specific properties due to its special geometry, which allows the transformation of the whole or of only a part of a normal or of an oblique incidence wave into the in-plane direction. The main advantages of the sensor are its very high sensitivity and the possibility to use a cheap and available vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL). (No expensive “classic” optics are needed.) The sensor can be used to detect biomolecular, biochemical and chemical interactions. Possible fields of application are environmental monitoring, homeland security, biomedicine, biochemistry or pharmacy. The university is looking for partners to develop a ready to the market product. This could be done in the framework of a research cooperation agreement or a license agreement. A license agreement would authorize a partner to use the material and know-how for the further development which leads to the market introduction of the product. But the university is also open to a research cooperation agreement where skills are shared to further the development of the technical aspects with the aim to develop a product which is ready to the market.